

City Cast Las Vegas
City Cast
City Cast Las Vegas is an an award-winning daily podcast and newsletter created by and for locals (and locals-at-heart) that’ll challenge the easy narratives about our city … and, okay, maybe confirm a few of them, too.
Join us every weekday morning for the messy, delightful, complicated conversations that Las Vegans are having: You’ll hear us ask hard questions about where we’ll get our water when Lake Mead runs out, and how we’ll keep housing affordable. We’ll argue over our favorite Chinatown bars, and share insider tips on the best tacos in town. City Cast Las Vegas will show you how loving a city means celebrating it and also holding it accountable, while having some fun along the way—because Las Vegans know how to have a good time. Learn more and subscribe to our daily newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm.
Named Best Podcast by The Las Vegas Weekly 2025
Join us every weekday morning for the messy, delightful, complicated conversations that Las Vegans are having: You’ll hear us ask hard questions about where we’ll get our water when Lake Mead runs out, and how we’ll keep housing affordable. We’ll argue over our favorite Chinatown bars, and share insider tips on the best tacos in town. City Cast Las Vegas will show you how loving a city means celebrating it and also holding it accountable, while having some fun along the way—because Las Vegans know how to have a good time. Learn more and subscribe to our daily newsletter at lasvegas.citycast.fm.
Named Best Podcast by The Las Vegas Weekly 2025
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 27, 2024 • 23min
Perez Hilton Explains the Vegas Influencer Drama
Celebrity commentator and OG influencer Perez Hilton moved to Las Vegas a year ago and has quickly tapped into our red-hot social media scene — observing the best (and worst) of Vegas influencers from his Vegas-based account, @lasvegasperez. So today, co-host Dayvid Figler sits down with Perez Hilton to get the inside track on how influencers impact our city, which of them have beef with each other (and why it involves footplay), and how much money an influencer can make.Love our podcast? Join our brand-new membership program! As a founding member, in addition to all the other great perks, you’ll also be enshrined on our website for all to see. Learn more at lasvegas.citycast.fm.We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 26, 2024 • 24min
What is Social Capital and Why Does NV Have So Little?
We know what capital-capital is (that’s money), but what is social capital? And more importantly, why does Nevada have so little? In multiple rankings of the state, one from a congressional study, Nevada ranks next to dead last in this important metric. Co-host Dayvid Figler talks with commentator Kim Foster, whose latest book, “The Meth Lunches,” dives into what it looks like when a community is rich (and conversely, poor) in social capital, and how it goes far beyond simple neighborliness.Love what you’re hearing? Join our brand-new membership program as a founding member: You’ll be enshrined on our website for all to see. Learn more about all the perks at membership.citycast.fm.We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 23, 2024 • 31min
The “Missing Murderer,” Rising Gas Bills, and Xtina’s Airbnb
The news this week about a “missing murderer” conjured images of a guy with a knife creeping through backyards. But the truth is a lot more paperwork-related than the headlines might have you believe. Co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman sit down with producer Layla Muhammad to discuss. They also get into the protests over our rising gas bills, which have even Summerlin residents up in arms, and the swanky new Las Vegas Airbnb experience hosted by Christina Aguilera that you can apply for here (yes, Sarah applied, and yes, we’ll keep you posted!).Lastly, if you love this podcast, show us some love and help us win “Best Podcast” in the Las Vegas Weekly’s annual Best of Vegas Awards. It takes just 10 seconds of your time, and would mean the world to us. (Also, if we win, Dayvid has promised to share his most embarrassing high school photo, so there’s THAT, too!)We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 22, 2024 • 25min
Has Tipping in Vegas Gone Too Far?
With nearly a quarter of our jobs in leisure and hospitality, tipping is baked into Vegas culture. But as we’re being asked to tip in more places at higher percentages, customers are experiencing more “tipping fatigue.” Today we look back at a conversation with Las Vegas writer and former hospitality worker Brittany Bronson. She tells co-host Dayvid Figler how tipping can help and hurt workers fighting for fair pay — and shares her essential rules for tipping in Vegas.Vote for us in Las Vegas Weekly's 2024 Best of Vegas! Click here and write in "City Cast Las Vegas" in the Best Vegas Podcast category.We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 21, 2024 • 23min
How the Historic Westside Came to Be
“Across the Tracks: A Las Vegas Westside Story” is a new documentary that celebrates the history of Las Vegas’ predominantly Black neighborhood, the Historic Westside. Through interviews with original residents and historians, the documentary paints a picture of the origins of Las Vegas, starting with the railroad and the community brought up around it. In today’s episode, co-host Dayvid Figler talks with filmmaker Emmett Gates and writer Soni Brown about why this documentary still resonates today, and how we can keep the history in the Historic Westside.Across the Tracks: A Las Vegas Westside Story will be released March 6th. Follow them here for updates.See Usher detail his visit to the Historic Westside here.We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 20, 2024 • 22min
Why You're Seeing More Coyotes Lately
After recent news that a coyote might have bitten a football player in town for the Super Bowl, and, last week, that a two-year-old girl had to get a rabies shot after a coyote attacked her at Lake Las Vegas, the tensions over coyotes and humans coexisting in our desert town have surfaced again. So we’re bringing back a conversation co-host Dayvid Figler had last year with UNLV wildlife ecologist Dr. David Choate. They talk about why we’re seeing more coyotes, and what to do if you encounter one.Do you love what you’re hearing? Do us a solid and vote for City Cast Las Vegas in the Best Podcast category over at the Las Vegas Weekly. It literally takes 10 seconds (or less, if you are a very fast typer) — and you will fill our hearts with joy. Thank you!We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 16, 2024 • 35min
Who Made Money from the Super Bowl? Plus, Controversial Downtown Housing, and Vegas’s Biggest “Scams”
The numbers are trickling in, and by some estimates, the Super Bowl was an economic victory for our city. But not everyone cashed in. Today, co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler sit down with contributor and Nevada Current reporter Michael MJ Lyle to talk about what the Super Bowl could do differently — and if its success changes the calculus on publicly-funded stadiums. Next, the team discusses two proposed downtown housing developments, including a hotly-contested sober living project, before moving on to what might be Las Vegas’s biggest scams, according to TripAdvisor (even though “scams” is probably the wrong word for it).Oh and hey, while you’re here — wanna do us a solid? Go vote for us in the “Best Podcast” category over at the Las Vegas Weekly. Four whole humans (and then some) work our butts off to make this show for you every single day, so show us a little love and help us win!We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 15, 2024 • 22min
Do We Really Need Another Celebrity Chef Restaurant?
The new year always seems to bring on a slew of new celebrity chef restaurant openings in Vegas: This season it’s Blake Shelton, Bobby Flay, and Michael Mina. And this summer, Gordon Ramsay will open his seventh (yes) Las Vegas restaurant. But does Las Vegas really need another celebrity chef restaurant? Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with food writers Gemini Stevens and John Curtas to discuss the rise and (possible) fall of our celebrity chef era, and which celeb restaurants are actually worth the hype.You can follow Gemini on social media — she’s @wishboneandvine on Twitter and Instagram and on her website, wishboneandvine.com. You can hear more of Gemini on the Food and Loathing podcast. And follow John Curtas on Twitter and Instagram, and make sure to check out his list of 52 essential Vegas restaurants on his website, eatinglv.com. John also podcasts at Eat. Talk. Repeat.Love City Cast? Help us win "Best Podcast" in the Las Vegas Weekly's Best of the City Awards. It takes just 10 seconds to vote, and plus — co-host Dayvid Figler has promised to share his most embarrassing high school yearbook photo if we win (how could you not go vote now??). DOOOO IT!We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 14, 2024 • 25min
Culinary's Next Big Power Moves
Over the last 20 years, the Culinary Union has become a force in Nevada politics to be reckoned with. Politicians court their endorsement, and their support can sway legislation. The historic contracts they just signed with the major Strip casinos (and now, most of the downtown properties, too) are a testament to the union’s sway. So what impact does the union have on our city, whether you’re in the union or not? How do they wield their influence in Las Vegas, and do they ever go too far? Co-host Dayvid Figler sits down with Culinary 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge for a rousing conversation.If you love City Cast Las Vegas, a) we love you too! And b) help us win "Best Podcast" in the Las Vegas Weekly's Best of the City Awards. Voting takes 10 seconds (maybe 15 if you're a slow typer), so do us a solid and help us achieve — if not world domination — a soul-affirming win for all the work we do. Vote now, please and thank you.We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.

Feb 13, 2024 • 22min
The Surprising History of Black Cowboys in Las Vegas
The cowboy is an iconic figure in the history of the Southwest United States. Even when Las Vegas isn’t hosting the National Finals Rodeo or other rodeo events, you can still spot people in cowboy hats and boots around the city. What people may not know, from the now-typical image of the white heroic cowboy, is that there is a long legacy of Black cowboys who helped shape the history of this region. Contributor Brent Holmes shares the erased history of Black cowboys in Las Vegas with co-host Sarah Lohman.Do you love what you’re hearing? Do us a solid and vote for City Cast Las Vegas in the Best Podcast category over at the Las Vegas Weekly. It literally takes 10 seconds (or less, if you are a very fast typer) — and you will fill our hearts with joy. Thank you!Want some more Las Vegas news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter here.


